Digger Phelps diagnosed with bladder cancer

College basketball analyst and former Notre Dame head coach Digger Phelps has been diagnosed with bladder cancer, ESPN announced Thursday night.

Phelps has had surgery and will start follow-up treatment next week near his home in South Bend, Indiana.

In a statement, Phelps said that “he and his family appreciate your thoughts and prayers as he prepares for the 2013-2014 college basketball season.”

Phelps, 71, was the head coach at Notre Dame from 1971-1991, where he amassed an overall record of 393-197. The most notable of those 393 wins came on Jan. 19, 1974 when the Fighting Irish stunned No. 1 UCLA and snapped the Bruins’ 88-game winning streak. Phelps still shares the NCAA record for most career upsets over a No. 1 team (7) with former Maryland head coach Gary Williams.

In 1993, Phelps began a broadcasting career and was hired by ESPN to work as a college basketball analyst. He has become a fixture on the network’s “College GameDay” program, where he is perhaps best known for consistently matching his tie color with the color of a highlighter he holds in his right hand.

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